Beijing News You Might Have Missed This Week, Nov 28
Beijing is a happening city! Don't miss a thing with our weekend roundup of the latest news.
Setting The Place Ablaze: On the morning of Thursday, Nov 26, two Weibo users posted separate videos of smoke billowing from the top floor of the iconic parking garage at The Place in the CBD. After a few moments, smoldering debris falls to the ground level of the garage. According to Beijing Daily, the fire was the result of an electrical problem and was promptly extinguished by firefighters from the Hujialou fire station. No one was inside the garage at the time of the fire.
Be speedy, bike share with (English) Didi: Didi’s English WeChat account recently published a “candid letter,” from the English team’s general manager. The letter was light on substance, but the final paragraph did mention a couple of exciting pieces of news – by December, the English version of the app is finally getting bike sharing (the light green sharebikes) and simultaneous ride-hailing, which allows users to call for two types of rides at once. Both features have long been available in the Chinese version of the app, but we’re always happy to see the English version catch up.
The Ducks quack for Lin’s return: Jeremy Lin left the Beijing Ducks this year to pursue a revival of his NBA career. Both the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets are reportedly considering the 32-year old player, but that hasn’t stopped the Ducks from wooing him back to Beijing, according to a CBA reporter. But the CBA itself has been less than helpful in making Lin feel welcome in China, having fined him RMB 4.82 million for failing to wear Li-Ning brand clothing while speaking with the media.
Olive You, Beijing Cuisine: Fresh on the heels of the 2020 Michelin Guide in Beijing, the 2020 Olive China Cuisine Awards announced the best restaurants in China for this year. In the category of “Beijing and Shanghai Cusine,” the Beijing-based winners were: Dadong, LU Style, and Yudefu Hot Pot.
HIV infections plummet: This week, Beijing reported 1,408 total new HIV infections in the first ten months of 2020, a 47 percent year-over-year drop. It’s unclear to what extent, if any, COVID-19 has played in reducing sexual activity, but in recent years Beijing has also been pushing for more frequent testing among high-risk groups to stop the spread of the disease.
More frozen food fright: Though it’s been months since the Xinfadi scare left us all wondering if it's safe to eat salmon, the aftershocks of the incident continue to reverberate. Now, the Xinfadi market has ceased sales and storage of frozen foods altogether. Meanwhile, the Jingshen frozen food market has stopped selling to individual consumers.
Kristmas Fried Chicken: Slapping a pair of reindeer antlers on the colonel, KFC China has announced a new “bubbly skin,” cola-flavored chicken for the holiday season. What do bubbles have to do with Christmas? Your guess is as good as ours, but nonetheless, you can land a bucket of the stuff for RMB 39.
Moon Rocks Wanted: Launching from Hainan, the Wenchang unmanned spacecraft launched on Tuesday. Its mission – to land on a previously unexplored area of the moon, collect material, and bring it back to earth. If successful, China would become the third country to bring back material from the moon after the US and the USSR.
Best of the blog
- Stupid Calendar: It's that time of year again. China has released the calendar for which days you'll get off for holidays... and which weekends you'll have to make up for it.
- Chan fans' grandstand: Trending on Weibo this week, two internet celebrity foreigners showed up at hot pot where Jackie Chan had once dined. The pair performed martial arts and attempted to purchase Chan's chair.
- Ni chi fan (for charity) le ma?: Chi Fan For Charity may be over for this year, but you can still revel in the memory with this gallery.
- Diversity matters: A recent study found that Beijing leads China in the fight against biodiversity loss.
READ: These Great-Value Lunch Sets are the Business
Images: Sina News, Sohu, CGTN, Dianping, Weibo
